Rip: A Remix Manifesto

Synopsis: Web activist and filmmaker Brett Gaylor explores issues of copyright in the information age, mashing up the media landscape of the 20th century and shattering the wall between users and producers.

The film’s central protagonist is Girl Talk, a mash-up musician topping the charts with his sample-based songs. But is Girl Talk a paragon of people power or the Pied Piper of piracy? Creative Commons founder, Lawrence Lessig, Brazil’s Minister of Culture Gilberto Gil and pop culture critic Cory Doctorow are also along for the ride.

A participatory media experiment, from day one, Brett shares his raw footage at opensourcecinema.org, for anyone to remix. This movie-as-mash-up method allows these remixes to become an integral part of the film.
Language: English
Country: Canada
Year of release: 2009
Availability: out of distribution
Subjects: Law; Media studies; Music
Keywords: copyright law; sampling; Creative Commons; mash-ups

Name: National Film Board of Canada
Web: http://www.nfb.ca/ External site opens in new window
Notes: The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) has an international reputation for producing social issue documentaries, auteur animation, alternative drama and innovative digital content, with a unique Canadian perspective. Since the NFB’s founding in 1939, it has created over 13,000 productions and won over 5,000 awards. The website gives details of the complete collection of NFB films. For personal viewing, films are streamed for free at http://www.nfb.ca/ or can be delivered to your i-Phone, iPad, Android or BlackBerry Playbook. Educational institutions can subscribe for online delivery and DVDs for sale are listed in the online store section of the website. Purchasers outside of the USA and Canada will need to check availability and pricing.

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